Copyright 1998 CAUSE. From CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 21, Number 1, 1998, pp. 52-53, 56. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact Jim Roche at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail: [email protected]

Recommended Reading

The Learning Revolution: The Challenge of Information Technology in the Academy
Edited by Diana G. Oblinger and Sean C. Rush
(Anker Publishing Company, 1997, $35.95, 251 pages)
ISBN 1-882982-17-7
Reviewed by Skip Noftzger

The learning revolution is about human potential. Although there are many challenges to implementing the learning revolution, there is too much at stake to not take the risks that will be necessary for success." In the midst of our turbulent times, fundamental challenges are raised concerning the preparation of educational institutions to adapt to new competitive, student-centered learning environments that offer a multitude of choices for delivering educational experiences and certifying competencies. Through inquiry, analysis, and suggestion of alternatives, this book provides a framework for consideration of the "successful" campus of the future.

Starting with a succinct summary of the critical changes occurring within both society and higher education, the authors offer insights into the potential deployment of technology to respond to these emerging challenges. In documenting this "learning revolution" and in lifting up "exemplary programs which place learning and student needs at the center of the academic enterprise," Oblinger and Rush have provided a valuable resource to the higher education community. Whether considering adaptations to current practices or imagining new educational structures, the focus remains on the shifting expectations and climate for learning. Robust applications of technology will recognize and address that change.

In "Understanding the Challenge," the first of its three sections, the book lays the groundwork for key issues. The second section, "Meeting the Challenge," supplies tangible snapshots of some current alternative responses. Finally, the authors provoke educators to reflect in "Looking to the Future." As with all books with multiple contributors, there is some unevenness between the chapters. Some chapters induce and stimulate innovative thought, while others repeat familiar problems which are being addressed by many institutions. Yet the diversity of the cited examples should accommodate any doubts about the relevance of this material to the full range of institutional types on the higher education landscape.

Ultimately, the book's real value is its call for action among higher education institutions. The Learning Revolution demands a response for the learners of tomorrow. It will contribute to the debates occurring across American campuses about not only potential applications of technology, but the rationale and purpose for employing such applications. A springboard for planning and reflection among campus constituencies, it provides both coherent analysis and tangible "signposts" of change. Regardless of the current level of adaptation within your institution, this book may make a valuable contribution in framing the strategic discussions.

Reviewer Richard (Skip) Noftzger is vice president for Institutional Planning/Research and Information Technology at Waynesburg College and a member of the CAUSE Editorial Committee.

For the Record: Protecting Electronic Health Information
National Research Council, Committee on Maintaining Privacy & Security in Health Care Applications of the National Information Infrastructure
(National Academy Press, 1997, $29.95, 264 pages)
ISBN 0-309-05687-7
Reviewed by Helen Samuels

In the good old days each academic institution had their few "custodians" who controlled access to information. Those key people housed the paper records and determined who could see the student records, personnel files, and other personally identifiable confidential information. Those days are gone. In our distributed networked environments every user has become a "custodian" who collects, maintains, gains access to, and uses such information. This radically different environment has challenged every campus to rethink their privacy and access policies. Colleges and universities have devoted particular attention to student information, as the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires academic institutions to comply with the requirements outlined in this federal legislation about access to student information.

Fortunately, the problems associated with managing student information are very like those of medical records. Academic administrators can benefit from the analysis and recommendations offered in this thoughtful study, which "examines the motivations behind the growing use of information technology within the health care industry; identifies related privacy and security concerns; and assesses a wide variety of mechanisms for protecting privacy and security in health care applications of information technology" (page 2). One of the most valuable ideas offered in this report is the authors' three-part framework (privacy, confidentiality, and security) which, they argue, must each be used when examining these issues. Privacy recognizes an individual's right to limit disclosure of personal information. Confidentiality, recognizing that there can be legitimate reasons to release personally identifiable information, refers to the conditions in which information is shared or released in a controlled environment. Security consists of a number of measures that organizations implement to protect information and systems, including efforts to not only protect privacy, but also ensure the integrity and availability of the information. This framework was recently used as part of MIT's re-examination of their student information policy, and served to clarify and emphasize the separate but related issues that we had to address.

CAUSE readers will probably find chapters 4 and 5, "Technical Approaches to Protecting Electronic Health Information" and "Organizational Approaches to Protecting Electronic Health Information," of greatest value. While the literature contains much more detailed advice on the technical issues, this is a useful summary. The organizational approach focuses on the policies, structures, education, and sanctions that are required. The report's recommendations wisely acknowledge that organizational and technical approaches must be seen as related to and supportive of one another, and therefore must be developed together.

Reviewer Helen W. Samuels is special asistant to the associate provost at MIT, where she works on policy issues. She is the author of Varsity Letters: Documenting Modern Colleges and Universities (Scarecrow Press and SAA, 1992). She served as Institute Archivist at MIT from 1977 to 1997.

Strategic Change in Colleges and Universities: Planning to Survive and Prosper
by Daniel James Rowley, Herman D. Lujan, and Michael G. Dolence
(Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997, $34.95, 343 pages)
ISBN 0-7879-0348-5
Reviewed by Skip Triplett

This book will interest senior administrators. It will frustrate people who espouse strategic planning and change but who lack either the authority or the influence to initiate it. Strategic Change in Colleges and Universities will only reinforce their convictions about the importance of systematically aligning the aspirations of their colleges with the needs of their external communities. Regents, executives, and those to whom regents and executives turn for advice will find it valuable.

It is both theoretical and practical. The book's value lies in its dual nature. Its authors make a solid theoretical case for conditions that require strategic planning and for its purposes, characteristics, and consequences. They provide practical advice about how to read uncharted waters to anticipate and avoid (or con a course through) the political rocks that lie beneath them.

It explains how to build participation, trust, and communication. Planning hazards include the deceptively visible: dissenters who take firm root to the campus sea-bed in small clusters, but whose turbulence hints at the presence of wide-spread shoals. The authors show how to deal with these people by identifying and including them throughout the planning process.

My own experience suggests that this is the critical planning consideration. At Kwantlen University College, we identified those people whose support we needed, then met with them individually to show them our in-progress thinking and ask for their contributions. This prevented the usual "there was insufficient consultation" objection.

Its subordinate themes offer detailed planning considerations and models. The authors identify several probable key planning areas such as enrollment, resource, and support system management. They explain how to add to these and how to develop �key performance indicators� and to measure and monitor them. They have also developed a supplemental workbook with step-by-step planning models ($22.00, ISBN 0-7879-0796-0).

Planners will find the models in both the book and the workbook most useful as first-draft templates. The models can serve as the agenda in early "how would you modify these?" discussions with potential dissenters.

It is easy to read and to use. Administrative and academic audiences will both enjoy reading the book. It is a scholarly, well-researched work, easy to read because it uses active voice in plain language. It is also a good working document because it uses headlines (in a style similar to this review's) to clearly mark ideas.

Reviewer Skip Triplett is vice president of education at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia, where he is responsible for developing, implementing, and updating the strategic plan.

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